


Fight Song

by lightrock105



Series: A Miraculous World [8]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 5 Times, Adrien is awkward and uncomfortable, Adrien tries to get Chloé to be good, André grows a backbone, Audrey still doesn't know Chloé's name, Butler Jean, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Chloé tries to be good, Gen, Mr. Cuddly the teddy bear, Sabrina has a backbone, Short Chapters, redemption arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 10:27:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25968124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightrock105/pseuds/lightrock105
Summary: Chloé sees what's happening to the relationships surrounding her and decides it's finally time to change.orFive times Chloé was rude to the people around her and the one time she wasn't.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste & Chloé Bourgeois, André Bourgeois & Chloé Bourgeois, Audrey Bourgeois & Chloé Bourgeois, Chloé Bourgeois & Butler Jean, Chloé Bourgeois & Sabrina Raincomprix
Series: A Miraculous World [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863928
Kudos: 15





	1. Always You

Chloé sat on her chaise, reading her mother's fashion magazine, impatiently waiting for Sabrina to show up. She had promised to be here at noon, but so far, she was three minutes late and Chloé was _not_ having it. If Sabrina had promised to be here by noon, she should have been. Actually, she should have been early because, like her mom, said if they're on time, they're late.

So when Sabrina walked in at seven minutes past noon, Chloé was seething. She threw down the magazine, not even caring that it bent and wrinkled the pages, and stormed over to her door where the redhead stood nervously, holding a small box in her shaking hands.

"I'm really sorry, Chloé. I got held up in the patisserie. There was a really long line and-" Chloé held up her hand and interrupted.

"Save it," Chloé snapped. Sabrina blinked in surprise and nearly dropped the pastry box. The blonde got mad at her frequently, but it usually resulted in her ignoring Sabrine. Never had she snapped at her or gotten angry at her vocally. 

"But-but, I'm not even _that_ late and-"

"Time is money, Sabrina! And I could have made _so_ much in those minutes that you weren't here. You know, I don't think you deserve to be my best friend. Maybe I should find one who is always on time!"

"But, I got your favorite pastries!" Sabrina opened the box and held it up to Chloé, who peered inside. "Raspberry and vanilla bean mille-feuille!" Chloé looked up to Sabrina and raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you know? They're so bad for you. There's way too much sugar and carbs in them. Pastry is out. Berry pavlovas are in." She waved her hand, shooing the timid girl away. "Ah, you can go now."

The redhead's face suddenly became the color of her hair. She held the box close to her chest as her eyes started to fill with tears.

"I hate you!" she spat. "You only ever think of yourself. Everything is always about you! Did you even think to thank me for going out of my way to try to get your favorite dessert? Did you think that maybe it was very expensive, but I did it anyway because that's what friends do? I don't think _I_ want to be _your_ friend anymore! You can-you can find a new best friend, because it isn't me!" Sabrina turned on her heel and stomped out the door, slamming it behind her.

Chloé's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she sniffed and shrugged it off. "She'll be back. She needs me. But she'll be doing all the begging and groveling. I won't be asking _her_ for anything."

* * *

Chloé shot another look at her phone. It had been just over a week since Sabrina had stormed out of her room, and so far, she had yet to make contact with her. She was starting to think that maybe Sabrina was serious and she really didn't want to be her friend anymore.

Hugging Mr. Cuddly to her chest, Chloé curled up on her bed, looking at pictures of her and Sabrina last summer, when they spent a whole week in London doing touristy things. It had been the most fun she had had in years, but from the pictures, even though she looked as fabulous as always, it didn't look like her friend had. Every expression that was captured was either false happiness or exhaustion.

"Maybe...maybe I am a bad friend," Chloé muttered. She curled up further into her blankets and started to cry.

"Mr. Cuddly, what do I _do_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to sakura240 for writing such a beautiful comment on "Scars to Your Beautiful" and inspiring this work. I've always wanted to do the five times trope, so here is my interpretation!


	2. No More

"Adrikins, come on!" Chloé shouted from inside the limousine. She was checking her makeup in a compact mirror when he slid into the seat next to her.

"Ugh, there you are, Adrien. I've been waiting forever. What took you so long?" Adrien opened his mouth to answer, pointing back towards his house, but before he could speak, Chloé cut him off.

"Never mind that. I've been looking forward to this lunch date for a while. I managed to get us a table for two at Le Cinq," she preened.

"Um, date?" Adrien shot her a questioning look before noticing that they were the only two people in the cabin.

"Of course. My Daddy and yours set this up for us. Don't you remember? They told us on April fourteenth. I texted you and told you to wear a black suit and yellow tie to match me." She gave him a once over before a frown settled on her face. "Clearly, you either didn't listen or you forgot. Your tie is black." She brightened up before ruffling through her bag. "No matter, I have a tie right here. I was worried that you would choose the wrong shade of yellow, so I packed one that was made from the same fabric as my dress. Luckily for you, otherwise we would have been the laughing stock of the fashion world, and we both know our parents wouldn't like that."

Adrien hesitantly took the tie from her and replaced it. He looked around for a place to put it before awkwardly shoving it in his coat pocket. He felt Plagg move around in protest, so he moved it to his pant pocket when Chloé was looking the other way.

"-and that's when I told him that he better let me or else my Daddy, the mayor, would be getting in touch. Of course, he let me right in and-oh look! We're here. Now, you have to help me out of the limo, Adrien. It's only the proper thing to do. You don't want to look bad, do you?" Adrien, who hadn't really been paying attention, snapped back to reality when he heard his name.

"Um, no...what am I doing?" While Chloé repeated her instructions, Adrien thought of how much she had changed over the years. She used to be the sweetest girl to be around. While she could be a bit demanding and bossy, she wasn't a bad person. Well, most of the time. But lately, it seemed like she thought she ran the world.

* * *

"Um, excuse me. I ordered the Sauteéd Salmon Steak. It's supposed to come with capers. I don't see any capers. I want a new dish," Chloé complained.

"Please," Adrien added, feeling bad for their server. He could definitely see the capers on her plate. Adrien was starting to think she was doing this for fun, seeing as it was the third time Chloé had sent something back. The first time was when she had insisted that there was no grenadine in her Shirley Temple, even though the drink was clearly red. The second time was when she thought her charred eggplant was not charred enough. He glanced down at his Pasta Portofino, shifting the lobster meat around. He was kind of embarrassed to be sitting with her. She was talking very loudly and whining way too often.

"So then I said to her, 'if you don't want them, I guess I'll take them back.' Obviously, she kept them, because who _wouldn't_ want a pair of real, customized Louboutin heels. Anyway, I was feeling particularly generous that day, so I let her keep them. They were too big for me, anyway. I can't believe people don't know by now that I'm a size seven. Clearly. I mean, have you seen how small my feet are? Nines would _so_ not fit me." Their waiter placed the new dish in front of Chloé, causing her to look down. She raised an eyebrow, sniffed it, the shrugged, cutting a small piece and eating it.

"So, Chloé...have you talked to Sabrina lately?" Adrien asked hesitantly after a few minutes. He'd heard all about their altercation and wanted to know how she was feeling about it. Chloé stopped eating and peered up at him.

"Of course not," she replied condescendingly, but he could see the hurt in her eyes. "She was totally in the wrong. I'm not going to talk to her again until she apologizes." Chloé picked up her glass and frowned into it. "I'm over this place. Let's get dessert somewhere else." Adrien sighed before signaling their waiter to bring the bill.

Chloé examined her nails while he paid for their meal and worked out how much to round up for the tip. She scoffed as he put down the euros on the table.

"Uh, what are you doing that for? That's way too much. The bill isn't that high." Adrien felt shock course through his body.

"Um...it's the tip? I added extra because you-"

Chloé cut him off. "Added extra? Adrikins they already get paid. Why are you giving them more?" Adrien buried his head in his hands. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him, out of the restaurant and into the awaiting limo. Once they there both seated and had pulled away from the curb, he took a deep breath and started to speak.

"Chloé, I gave them extra because it's the right thing to do and because you were being a bit nasty to our waiter. I was really hoping that Sabrina not talking to you would wake you up, but I actually think it has made you worse. So, I'm sorry Chloé, but I can't be friends with someone who treats other people like that. You need to start being nicer to people!" Chloé blinked a few times at him.

"Nice? But, but that's not...I'm not... _nice_?"

"Yes! Nice. It's not that hard." The limo pulled up to the Agreste mansion. Adrien frowned at Chloé before he loosened the atrocious yellow tie, yanked it over his head, and shoved it at her, getting out of the limo rather quickly. "I'll see you later. Once you learn to start treating people right."

* * *

"Nice to people? Puh-lease. People don't deserve for me to be nice to them." Chloé looked down at Mr. Cuddly, who was staring up at her from his place amongst her pillows.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. Adrien can't be serious...can he?" She got off her bed and walked to the closest window, looking down at the people below her. "Do I actually have to start being nice to people?" She looked back to Mr. Cuddly, who stared unblinkingly back. "No, no, of course I don't he didn't mean it. He was just having a bad day and was being a little touchy." Chloé swallowed before looking at her phone, which had a surprising lack of messages from Adrien. "Right?"


	3. What You Own

"Jean-Luc!" Chloé yelled. The butler was by her side within seconds, appearing out of what seemed to be nowhere.

"My name isn't...never mind." He straightened up to his usual stiff posture, which caused her to roll her eyes. "Yes, Mademoiselle Chloé?" he asked.

"Jean-Marc, why is there fruit in my water? I asked for plain ice water. The strawberry will make my tongue red and I _cannot_ have that when I have my meeting with Prince Ali. And then lemon will make my breath smell like citrus. I need to have minty fresh breath. Ooo, can you find me some mints? Or strong mint gum? _No_ , I know! Get me those little peppermints from that specialty store I like." Chloé scrolled on her phone until she got to Prince Ali's messages. "Ugh, he still hasn't answered me. Well, get me those mints anyway. I want to be prepared."

The butler gave a short bow before taking his leave. "Of course. I will see to it right away."

While he was gone, Chloé busied herself by touching up the nail polish on her nails and staring at her hair in her bathroom mirror. "Hmm. Well, at least my hair looks good." She adjusted her ponytail and looked at her phone for the time. Twenty-three minutes since she had sent Jean-Paul to get her those mints.

"Ugh, where _is_ he?!" Flopping herself onto her chaise, she resorted to crossing her arms and glaring at the door, just waiting until Jean-Claude walked through them. He was certainly going to be getting an earful from her when he did. Having to wait more than ten minutes for the mints to arrive? Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!

After more than a half an hour, Chloé stood up with a huff. She paced in front of her door, trying to calm herself before giving up and whipping the door open.

"Daddy will know where he is," she muttered to herself.

Marching down the hallway, she stormed right into his bedroom, only to look around and find it void of her father. She groaned and pivoted on her heel, stomping to his office, the next likely place he would be.

She flung open the doors and was pleased to see him standing in front of his desk. She was less pleased to see two strangers there, but that had never stopped her before.

"Daddy!" she cried. Her father looked up from the people with an almost invisible cringe. The people in front of him turned, and upon seeing who she was, fled the room. the mayor watched them go, then turned back to Chloé with a somewhat disapproving stare.

"Chloé, darling, I was in the middle of something important." He turned to shuffle a few papers on his desk, hoping she didn't see him start to sweat.

"Daddy, where is my butler? I sent him to get me mints _forever_ ago and he isn't back yet. Jean-Louis has never been this late before." André turned around with an anxious look on his face.

"Chloé, dear, did he not tell you? Um...your butler gave his two-week notice two weeks ago. He, um, he quit today. Although I find it strange that he left in the middle of the day, that is very unlike him." André winced as he took in Chloé's furious expression.

"He _what_?! He can't do that! He's _my_ butler!" Huffing, she plopped right down on the floor, not even bothered that she could get a wrinkle in her brand new pants. "He can't do this to me! He's my butler! He serves me! He's supposed to do what I tell him and I didn't tell him he could leave!" She suddenly started bawling, and her father sighed and rubbed his face tiredly.

"Chloé, sweetie, you must understand he is a person too, and while he was your butler, he was not your slave. You didn't own him, darling. He is allowed to make his own decisions." She sniffed and wiped her tears away.

"Daddy...who is going to replace Jean-Baptiste? And no one has gotten me my mints yet." André shook his head and inhaled deeply.

"I shall find someone for you, Chloé. But please, I have important meetings today and I'm already behind schedule. Please go back to your room. I will send someone for your mints."

* * *

When Chloé opened her bedroom door, her eyes were immediately drawn to her bed. On top of it sat Mr. Cuddly holding a note in a pile of the mints she asked for. Walking over, she plucked the note off of the bear and flipped it open.

_Mademoiselle Chloé,_

_Here are the mints you asked for. I pre-ordered more of them in your name so three new tins will arrive at the hotel under your name every first day of the month._

_~Jean_

Chloé's eyes furrowed.

"Jean didn't even have a second name?" A lone tear slipped out of her right eye. Her chest hurt and try as she might, she didn't think she could blame it on the strawberry lemon water she had earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this chapter sooner, but I just didn't like how it sounded. I must have written it at least four times now and I still don't like how it's written, but I needed to get it up.
> 
> Tell me what you think! Hopefully, the next one will be sooner than this one was.


	4. Habit

"Daddy!" Chloé cried out, not seeing him cringe at the sound of her voice. André quickly shoved the papers he was looking over into a drawer and turned to face his daughter, who was scrolling on her phone and had her favorite handbag slung over her shoulder.

"Yes, my little princess?" Chloé looked up from her phone and gave him an unimpressed look.

"Daddy, the rude man at _Gabriel's_ told me I couldn't try on any more clothes because I always left the unwanted ones in the changing room. But isn't that their job to put the clothes back on the racks? I'm not going to do that, that's beneath me. I need you to call the store and tell that them you're my daddy and also the mayor and he needs to do what I tell him to do and I can do what I want. Because you're the mayor." Chloé started to walk out the door when André stammered at her.

"Bu-bu-but Chloé darling, you s-see, I can't just-that would be abusing my power, and I could-"

"Oh zip it, you incompetent man! Call the store right now or you're fired! I can always just go back to New York with mom! Do you want me to leave you here? Is that why you're not doing what I ask? Because you hate me now?" André's jaw dropped and he scrambled to put himself back together and get his daughter on his good side again.

"No! Not at all. You know I love you, my sweet Chloé. I'll call them right now and do everything you asked." Chloé sniffed and flipped her sunglasses down over her eyes.

"Good. And I took your credit card, Daddy. I'm going shopping for a few hours. Make sure I have a bath prepared for me when I return."

"Yes, Chloé dear," André sighed as she left the room. Dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief, he plopped down at his desk and picked up the phone, dialing _Gabriel's_ and reluctantly demanded that they let Chloé have free range of the store, pulling the mayor card for what felt like the millionth time in his life.

Hanging up, he ran his hands over his tired eyes and stressed face, shaking his head decided that he couldn't be a pushover anymore. Not unless he wanted to have all his hair fall out or get an ulcer from the stress of it.

His daughter may hate him for the next year, but it was for her own good, he decided.

* * *

"Mom!" Chloé called out from the top of the stairs, seeing her mother with four giant suitcases lined up neatly beside her. Audrey was ignoring the man behind the front desk as he frantically typed on the computer.

"Since your private helicopter broke down, the next flight to New York is in...eleven hours and thirty-seven minutes, Ms. Bour-"

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! That's just unacceptable. You're fired!" The man gaped at her before trying to reason with her, a mistake he didn't know he made until he did it.

"Bu-but Ms., I don't control the flights and technically, I was employed by your husban-"

"Fired!" she screamed. The man backed up and hurried away.

"Mom!" Chloé called again. Audrey looked up at her, her expression unchanged.

"Casserole, I mean, Chloé, what are you doing down here? I thought you were still at school." Chloé frowned and looked at the clock. It was a Saturday, but even if it wasn't, she would have gotten home from school four and a half hours ago.

"No, Mom, I'm-I'm home. Are you going back to New York? Can I come with you this time?"

Audrey, who had gone back to looking at her phone, gave Chloé no attention as she answered her. "Of course not Claudine, uh, Chloé. This is important fashion business and you just won't get it. Besides, you would be happier here with your father and your friend Austin, no, Adrien." Since she was looking down, Audrey didn't see Chloé's wince at his name, but even if she had, she wouldn't have cared.

"Now, go one, go...do something else, Chlorine-Chloé. I'm busy."

Chloé walked slowly back up the staircase, taking one last, sad look at her mother and the bags before steeling her expression and putting on one of haughty indifference. She had gone years without seeing her mother. Surely, she could survive a few more months. At least, she hoped it was only a few months.

* * *

When Chloé woke up the next morning, Audrey was gone and André was in his office, going over his speech for the next election. Frustrated, she stormed into his office and slammed her hand down on top of the papers.

"Daddy, has Mom's flight left yet?" André jumped at the intrusion, not even hearing her come in, and glanced down at his watch.

"Not yet, darling. It leaves in an hour." The back of his neck started to sweat, but he ignored it in hopes that if he didn't move, he would finally have the courage to stand up to her.

"Well, good. Call the airport and tell them to not let the plane leave. Mom can't go again, she just came home!" When André made no move to pick up the phone, she recoiled in shock and anger.

"Daddy, didn't you hear me? Call the airport and tell them that you're the mayor of Paris and the plane can't leave!" When his arm still didn't move, she screeched and threw her own phone across the room, watching with little satisfaction as the glass shattered against the wall.

"Daddy!" she wailed, confused and annoyed.

"I'm very sorry, princess, but I just can't this time. I cannot stop your mother from leaving if she wants to and...and...you must stop using my title as mayor to get what you want." he rushed the last part, but Chloé understood him anyway. She stood in shock and just blinked at him for a full minute before screeching again and storming out of the room.

André collapsed onto his desk and heaved a long sigh.

"It's for her own good, it's for her own good," he muttered to himself over and over again.

* * *

Chloé hugged Mr. Cuddly to her body tightly as she sobbed.

"Why does no one love me anymore?" she moaned into the back of the bear's head, tears staining the yellow fabric. The stuffed animal gave no answer, just stared at the opposite wall with its diamond eyes and neutral expression.

"Daddy won't do what I ask anymore and Mom just keeps leaving! I...I can't..." she hiccuped and curled deeper into her bed, crying herself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...it's been a while *cringes* so sorry about that. I may have forgotten about this and then attempted to write another chapter, got distracted for 30 days and it got deleted and had to start again and didn't feel up to it so I forgot about it again and... *large inhale* yeah it's been a process. But now we're more than halfway done so...progress!


End file.
